Barack Obama comes out swinging against Donald Trump

Former US president Barack Obama has stepped into the fray ahead of the country's mid-term elections as Donald Trump grapples with internal resistance to his presidency.

Barack Obama delivered a strong rebuke to the president, and the Republican Party. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has called on the Attorney-General to investigate who wrote a critical anonymous op-ed that came from within his administration

Duration: 2min 39sec

Broadcast:
Sat 8 Sep 2018, 8:00am

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Barack Obama, former US PresidentDonald Trump, US President

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THOMAS ORITI: Former US president, Barack Obama, has stepped into the fray ahead of the country's mid-term elections, as Donald Trump grapples with internal resistance to his presidency.

Barack Obama delivered a strong rebuke to the President, and the Republican Party urging people to vote in dangerous times.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump has called on the Attorney-General to investigate who wrote a critical anonymous op-ed that came from within his administration.

Washington correspondent Zoe Daniel filed this report.

ZOE DANIEL: Sixty days out from the mid-terms, Barack Obama is back out in front, speaking to students in his home state of Illinois.

BARACK OBAMA: A politics of fear and resentment and retrenchment takes hold and demagogues promise simple fixes to complex problems. They promise to fight for the little guy, even as they cater to the wealthiest and most powerful.

ZOE DANIEL: He's urged voters to change direction.

BARACK OBAMA: It did not start with Donald Trump. He is a symptom; not the cause.

ZOE DANIEL: Some analysis has Democrats with a higher than 75 per cent chance of taking control of the House at the mid-terms - which could open the way for multiple investigations into the Trump administration or even impeachment.

Aware of his pulling power, Obama is criticising not only the president but the Republican Party.

ZOE DANIEL: After a difficult week, Donald Trump was out campaigning too - fronting a rally in North Dakota.

DONALD TRUMP: He said, "What did you think of President Obama's speech?" and I said, "I'm sorry, I watched it but I fell asleep."

ZOE DANIEL: He's still focused on rooting out the member of his administration who wrote an anonymous opinion piece for the New York Times claiming an internal resistance is deliberately thwarting his decision making.

DONALD TRUMP: Supposing I have a high level national security meeting and he has got a clearance and he goes into a high level meeting concerning China or Russia or North Korea or something.

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